Fruit picker&#39;s bag



United States Patent Inventor Thurston Carney 352 Mono Court, Ventura,California 93002 App]. No. 747,945 Filed July 26, 1968 Patented Oct. 6,1970 FRUIT PICKERS BAG 7 Claims, 5 Drawing Figs.

U.S. Cl i. 150/2, 24/241 Int. Cl A0lg 19/06 Field of Search .i 150/2;24/24 I P) 56] References Cited UNiTED STATES PATENTS 863,002 8/1907Seely 24/2411?) 1,017,721 2/1912 Williams t y i i v 150/2 PrimaryExaminer- Donald F. Norton Attorne) Lyon and Lyon ABSTRACT: A fruitpicker's bag in the form of a tube, the bottom portion of which isfolded upon itself to close the bag, and a pair of quick-releasefasteners secure the bottom portion in its folded condition; eachfastener having an upwardly extending retainer bar carried by the upperportion of the bag and a loop secured to the bottom of the bag, each barbeing capable of release with one hand so that the fasteners may beoperated simultaneously.

Patented Oct. 6, 197-0 I 3,532,146

I" 24 i Z5 INVENTOR.

7/70/85 ON CZe/VEV I I H BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION A fruit pickers bagis usually in the form of a canvas tube, having a shoulder strap at itsupper end and a foldable bottom portion. Heretofore, the folded bottomhas been secured by fastener hooks which require two hands to operateand furthermore require partial lifting of the bag. Inasmuch as a fullfruit pickers bag will weigh from 50 to 75 pounds, lifting the bag toaccomplish this is not only time consuming,but also tiresome.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The purposes of the present invention areincluded in the following objects:

First, to provide a fruit pickers bag of the folded tube type whichincorporates a pair of quick-release fasteners, each readily engageableby one hand for simultaneous release without raising the bag.

Second, to provide a fruit pickers bag of the type indicated in thepreceding object in which a mounting plate, having a hook and anupwardly directed spring finger, cooperate to hold a ring secured to acorner of the bag bottom, the finger on being released by the hook,being pivoted by the weight of the folded bottom section of the baguntil the bag is released.

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES FIG. I is a front view of the fruit pickersbag, the shoulder strap shown fragmentarily, the bag being shown in itsfolded condition for receiving and holding fruit.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary edge view, taken from 2-2 of FIG. 1,showing particularly the separable fastening means.

.FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the fastening means.

FIG. 4 is a front view of a modified form of the fastening means.

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view thereof, taken through 5-5 ofFIG. 4.

SPECIFICATION The fruit pickers bag is a tubular bag, designated 1,which includes a front side 2 and a back side 3, joined along theirmargins by edge reinforcement 4. The upper margin of the front side isprovided with a stiffening member 5 to hold it outwardly from thebackside to facilitate placement of fruit within the bag. A shoulder strap 6is connected :to the top of the bag.

In order to retain the contents in the bag, a bottom portion 7 of thebag is folded upwardly in front of the bag. The corners of the bottomedge of the bag are provided with straps 8 which receive metal loops 9.

The construction thus far described may be considered as conventional.It has been the previous practice to provide fastening means at the twomargins of the bag above the folded bottom portion. The fastening meansconventionally used require two hands to operate, but also require thatthe bottom of the bag be lifted. In the exercise of the presentinvention, the special fasteners, designated I0, are capable ofoperation with one hand so that the fasteners may be disconnectedsimultaneously. Each fastener includes a base strap ll provided with apair of rivet holes 12 so as to be secured by I rivets I3 to oppositemargins of the bag. The lower end of the base strap is provided with apair of outwardly directed ears [4, the upper margins I5 of which slopedownwardly and outwardly.

The upper end of the base strap is provided with an outwardly directedopen loop 16, terminating in a downwardly and inwardly directed hook end17, having a latch notch 18 at its extremity.

The ears 14 are connected by a journal pin 19, which pivotally supportsa spring clip 20, formed of spring wire and having a loop 21 joumaled onthe pin 19. One end of the spring clip forrnsa retainer shaft 22,dimensioned to extend upwardly in front of thebase strap and engage hookend 17 and notch 18. The other end of the spring clip formsan abutmentshaft 23, which extends into a channel 24, formed in the base strapbetweenthe ears 14. The abutment shaft 23 bears against the bottom ofthe channel 24, as the retainer shaft 22 approaches the hook end 17 soas to provide an outwardly biasing force. When the retainer shaft 22moves clear of the hook end 17, a short distance, as indicated by brokenlines in FIG. ,3, the spring clip pivots freely on the journal pin andreadily drops to the dotted line position as shown in FIG. 3. Theretainer shaft22 is capable of suffiicient lateral displacement as topennit the tip end .tobe moved laterally under the hook end 17 so as tobe received inthe notch 18.

Operation of thefruit pickers bag is as follows:

When the bag is in use, the bottom'po rtion 7 is folded as in dicated inFIGS. I and 2, and the loops 9 rest on the pairs of ears 14,.as shownbest in FIG. 2. When the bag is full, it is held 1 over a field box,intended to receive the fruit, the fruit picker then presses inwardlyand laterally on both retainer shafts 22 simultaneously, disengaging theshafts from the base straps. The retainer shafts may bereleasedpermitting the loops 9 to move by gravity over the upper margins 15,aided to some extent by the abutment shafts 23, which tend to rotate 'ina counter-clockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. 3. The weight of thefruit within the bag causes the bottom portion 7 to unfold and permitthe fruit to cascade from the bag.

Reference is directed to FIGS. 4 and 5, which illustrate a modified formof the fastener. The modified fastener includes a base strap 25, havingears 26 at its lower end between which is a folded tab 27 which extendsoutwardly. The upper end of the base strap 25 is provided with a hookend 28 having a notch 29 in the manner of the first described structure.

A spring clip 30 is provided which includes a retainer shaft 31terminating in a loop 32 at one end for pivotal support by a journal pin33 between the cars 26. The upper margins 34 of the cars 26 slopedownwardly and outwardly as in the first described structure.

The tab 27 is provided with a fulcrum notch 35 at its extremity whichbears against the retainer shaft 31 intermediate its ends but adjacentthe loop 32 so that as the retainer shaft 31 approaches the hook end 28,it must be bent against the biasing force exerted by the tab 27. Whenthe retainer shaft 31 is free of the hook end 28, it is free to pivot.counter-clockwise as viewed in FIG. 5 in the manner of the firstdescribed structure. The modified fastener, like the first describedfastener, is

capable of operation with one hand so that both fasteners may variousparts and their relationships as come within the purview of the appendedclaims.

I claim:

I. A fruit pickers bag, comprising:

a. a tubular bag member adapted to be folded near its bottom end toeffect a closure and to be unfolded to permit discharge of its contents;

b. a pair of loop members at the corners of said bottom end;

c. and a pair of fasteners at the side margins of said bag forattachment to said loop members to secure the bottom portion in a foldedcondition;

d. each of said fasteners including a base strap secured to a margin ofsaid bag; a spring clip pivotally connected to the lower end of saidstrap and having an upwardly directed retainer shaft; and a fixedlatching means at the upper end of said base strap, said latching meansextending over the upper end of the retainer shaft and forming a guardtherefor, the retainer shaft being laterally movable to clear thelatching means;

e. a corresponding loop member being receivable between said base strapand said shaft above said pivotal connection to slip by gravity fromsaid fastener upon disengaging said retainer shaft from said latchingmeans and releasing said shaft.

2. A structure, as defined in claim 1, wherein the pivotal connectionfor each fastener includes a pair of ears, a pivot shaft and a loopformed in said spring shaft; and the upper edges of said ears slopedownwardly and outwardly from said bag for free sliding movement of thecorresponding loop member therefrom.

3. A structure, as defined in claim I, wherein said clip includes asecond shaft bearing against said base strap as said retainer shaftapproaches said latching means thereby to apply a biasing force tendingto disengage said retainer shaft.

4. A structure, as defined in claim 1, wherein said base strap includesa tab engaging said retainer shaft intermediate its ends as saidretainer shaft approaches said latching means thereby to apply a biasingforce tending to disengage said retainer shaft.

5. The combination with a tubular fruit pickers bag adapted to be foldednear its bottom end to form a closure and to be unfolded for dischargeof its contents, the lower corners of the bag having a pair of loopmembers, of fastening means disposed in opposite margins of said bag toreceive said loop members, each of said fastening means comprising:

a. a base strap secured to a margin of said bag, said base strap havingan outwardly projecting member at its lower end the upper edge of whichreceives a loop member and slopes downwardly whereby said loop membertends to slip by gravity therefrom;

b. a retainer pivotally connected to said projecting member and freelymovable to a downwardly directed position to permit said loop member toslip freely therefrom;

c. and a fixed guard and latch means integral with the upper end of saidbase strap, extending outwardly therefrom over said retainer, thenintumed and notched, to secure the retainer in an upwardly directedposition thereby to hold said loop member on said outwardly projectingmember.

6. A fastening means, as defined in claim 5, wherein said retainer is aspring shaft having a loop near one end to form an abutment shaftengaging said base strap to bias said spring shaft away from saidlatching means.

7. A fastening means, as defined in claim 5, wherein said retainer is aspring shaft and a tab projects from said base strap to engage saidspring shaft intermediate its ends and thereby bias said spring shaftaway from said latching means.

